1
as in democratic
of, relating to, or favoring political democracy
having rid itself of the yoke of colonialism, the new nation chose to be a self-ruling state
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in independent
not being under the rule or control of another
was granted special status as a self-ruling province
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Recent Examples of self-ruling
Not only that, but Greenland, a self-ruling territory of Denmark, lacks the infrastructure and manpower required to make this mining dream a reality.
—
Matt Egan, CNN Money, 12 Jan. 2026
Like Assad before him, Sharaa now faces complex negotiations toward bringing these self-ruling territories under his command.
—Tom O'Connor, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 Dec. 2025
The dispute began when Takaichi, who was elected last month, told lawmakers that a hypothetical Chinese attack on self-ruling Taiwan, which at its closest point is about 70 miles from Japanese territory, could threaten Japan’s survival and trigger a military response from Tokyo.
—Peter Guo, NBC news, 25 Nov. 2025
In recent years, Beijing has ramped up economic, diplomatic and military pressure on Taiwan – a self-ruling democracy the Chinese Communist Party claims as its own despite having never governed it.
—Eric Cheung, CNN, 13 Mar. 2023
In a meeting earlier with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, Raisi expressed support for China's crackdown on democracy in Hong Kong and claim to self-ruling democratic Taiwan.
—Bradford Betz, Fox News, 17 Feb. 2023
Matt Egan, CNN Money, 12 Jan. 2026
Like Assad before him, Sharaa now faces complex negotiations toward bringing these self-ruling territories under his command.
—Tom O'Connor, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 Dec. 2025
The dispute began when Takaichi, who was elected last month, told lawmakers that a hypothetical Chinese attack on self-ruling Taiwan, which at its closest point is about 70 miles from Japanese territory, could threaten Japan’s survival and trigger a military response from Tokyo.
—Peter Guo, NBC news, 25 Nov. 2025
In recent years, Beijing has ramped up economic, diplomatic and military pressure on Taiwan – a self-ruling democracy the Chinese Communist Party claims as its own despite having never governed it.
—Eric Cheung, CNN, 13 Mar. 2023
In a meeting earlier with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, Raisi expressed support for China's crackdown on democracy in Hong Kong and claim to self-ruling democratic Taiwan.
—Bradford Betz, Fox News, 17 Feb. 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for self-ruling
Adjective
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The island only held its first democratic elections in the early 1990s, following decades of martial law under the KMT.—
Wayne Chang,
CNN Money,
7 Apr. 2026
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Ideas expressed in the piece Bianco’s ballot seizure and investigation represent a threat to democratic elections, as the sheriff is operating outside legal boundaries established to protect election integrity and chain of custody over ballots.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
31 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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No candidate has drawn even 20% of voters’ support in independent polling.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
12 Apr. 2026
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But even a young woman struggling with the patriarchal conundrum of cool-girl syndrome (to be independent and accepted) might reveal more of a snappish turn of mind than Grace does.—
Owen Gleiberman,
Variety,
12 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Is it just achieved by human autonomy or can it also be achieved via a human being deploying an autonomous tool?—
Hilary Lewis,
HollywoodReporter,
7 Apr. 2026
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Hackers have already leveraged Anthropic’s tools to enable more sophisticated and autonomous attacks.—
Beatrice Nolan,
Fortune,
7 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Epstein also claimed that the prince had asked that he be allowed to see details of legal structures, organization charts, goals and initiatives of the Saudi central bank, the royal purse and the country’s sovereign wealth fund, his emails to Al-Sabbagh’s aide show.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
8 Apr. 2026
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More specifically, the capital is coming from Saudi Arabia’s PIF (public investment fund), L’Imad, an Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund, and QIA, a Qatar Investment Authority fund.—
Tony Maglio,
HollywoodReporter,
7 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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House and Senate Democrats plan to force separate votes in both chambers on Iran war powers resolutions this week.—
John Parkinson,
ABC News,
13 Apr. 2026
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The judge, Wendy Vitter, had split the case into two separate proceedings.—
Patrick Radden Keefe,
New Yorker,
13 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Self-ruling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/self-ruling. Accessed 14 Apr. 2026.
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